Heir of Dust and Wind

Chapter 34 - Old & New Acquaintances

Ava wondered - not for the first time this evening - why all the dishes there in the world, the house had chosen steak as the main course for their dinner. If the choice had been hers, she would have chosen soup for sure. 

Why? Simply because it would have been so much safer. Well, not for the soup of course, but spoons were so much harder to weaponize. And if there was one thing they didn't need right now that was in either Trygve's or Orla's reach.  

Although she valued both of them equally, some part of Ava had dreaded their first meeting. Trygve was still angry because he suspected that the Goblin's bargain had been a trap for her, and as for Orla ... Well, ava just had a feeling that she wouldn't take kindly to grumpy Dracaeni.

Yet, despite all her worries - which the house was supposed to take into consideration, should it not? - it had laid out the ingredients for the very meal they were now eating: salad, steak with green beans, roast potatoes and chocolate cake for dessert. 

Of course, it had also provided the fitting cutlery, including shiny and sharp steak knives. Brilliant.

Despite all the crackling tension and the utter silence at the dining table, however, they had made it almost to the end of their main course without any casualties - thank the stars for small mercies! Sadly, that didn't keep the Goblin and the dark-haired Draceni from eyeing each other like hawks, assessing the best moment for a successful strike at their respective prey.

"I bet they're at it before dessert," Gainor teased in her mind. "What do you think?"

Ava's first impulse was to admonish him. How could he make fun of this? She really, really wanted the people around her to get along. But then again, this was Gainor who had made the suggestion and Ava knew by now that he didn't handle this kind of tension very well. Joking was his way of dealing with it. Still, that didn't make it more appropriate.

"I think they're going to have a civilised conversation," she replied, uncertain whether it was him or herself she wanted to convince. "Both of them are reasonable enough." 

Although she was far from certain about her last statement, both Goblin and DRacaeni deserved the benefit of the doubt.

Gainor actually snorted at her thought but quickly managed to conceal it as a cough before taking a sip of water and hiding a grin behind his glass. Luckily neither Orla nor Trygve hadn't noticed, being too focused on their nonverbal hostilities.

Now that Gainor had pointed it out, their behaviour was rather ridiculous. 

Trygve was practically butchering his steak a second time, each of his moves revealing the beast that currently slumbered beneath his human skin. Every once in a while he glared at the Goblin, a storm of anger raging in his dark eyes.

Orla on the other hand was cutting each slice of meat meticulously, each of her movements precise. At the same time, she kept looking at Trygve with the most innocent of expressions. IT was decidedly too innocent, Ava knew full well. IT was the librarian's version of subtle provocation.

"Come on, if they really have to be this childish about it, let's make a bet of it," Gainor pleaded. "The loser gets the first practice fight with Trygve after your little librarian here has finished with him," he declared, voice full of glee.

Just as Ava wanted to retort, that he was being just as childish, Gainor went on. "If you're too squeamish, at least ask your 'sweetheart' what he thinks, maybe he's up for it," he added, and Ava watched his eyes sparkling wickedly.

ORiginally, Ava had wanted to bristle at the word sweetheart, which was probably just what Gainor had intended, but when Orla asked Trygve to pass her the bowl of green beans with the most saccharine voice she'd ever heard anyone use, and Trygve handed the bowl over with such savage ferocity, she had decided Gainor had a point.